Whitefish Face Working Group

The Whitefish Face Working Group is working towards advancing the goals of the Whitefish Range Partnership on the Whitefish Face – the southernmost portion of the Whitefish Range. The Working Group included representatives from the City of Whitefish, Stoltze Land and Lumber, Whitefish Mountain Resort, Whitefish Legacy Partners, the Flathead Snowmobile Association, and others interested in the project.

The goal of the Working Group was threefold:

Preserve and protect the watershed in the area, as it is the primary source of drinking water for the City of Whitefish

Conduct logging operations. The proposals regarding logging are partially commercial in nature, and partly to mitigate the risk of wildfire in the area, which could (among other things) detrimentally impact the watershed.

Improve recreational access. Outside of the permitted area of Whitefish Mountain Resort, there are very few sanctioned trails on the National Forest in the area of the Whitefish Face, however there is tremendous potential for recreation in the area.

​Flathead Area Mountain Bikers, along with Whitefish Mountain Resort, Whitefish Legacy Partners, and others interested in recreational access, formed a proposal for an expansion of trails across the Whitefish Face. The trails would primarily be non-motorized, multi-use trails that would connect in to Whitefish Mountain Resort’s trail network as well as the Whitefish Trail network.

This project is still in its early stages. We are working with the Forest Service to fine tune the proposal, and we expect the review and approval process to move forward in late 2016.

Preserving and advancing mountain bike activities in the Flathead Valley.